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First aid tips

Have you ever suspected your pet may be suffering from an injury and you weren't sure what to do? Bleeding skin, broken bone, eye injury, convulsion, obstruction, choking and not sure what to do. Here's a few tips on how you can make your pet more comfortable whilst you are on the way to the vet.

Bleeding skin..a broken bone?

Control the bleeding by applying pressure to the wound with your hands for 3 minutes or with a bandage.

Check the chest area. If the injury is near the chest it may indicate broken ribs, these can be very painful and may penetrate into the lungs. Apply a dressing if necessary.

Is there an obvious fracture? If you find a bone poking through, do not delay your visit to the vet. If a bone is below the elbow or knees it is a good idea to temporarily splint or dress it. Use rolled up newspapers or cardboard as a splint (be careful not to get bitten). If there is an open wound, and you can't get to the vet immediately, apply a bandage to the wound area.

Motor vehicle accident. Many small animals fracture their pelvis when they are in a motor vehicle accident - this can be extremely painful so take care when moving them. Try to use a sling to move the animal. Learn more about road accidents involving pets.

Burns

Burn damage to the surface and/or deeper layers of the skin will occur immediately regardless of the source of burn. Visible signs can be seen immediately or it can take up to 12-24 hours after the accident depending on the cause or type of burn. Burns can be caused by a dry heat, such as flame, corrosive chemicals, radiation, electricity or cold. A scald is caused by a moist heat, such as hot oil, wax or water.

First aid for a burn

Cool the area immediately with cool running water or a cool compress

Immerse in or flush with water or apply a cool pack to the effected area for a minimum of 5 minutes

Apply a moist, cool compress to the effected area

Keep your pet warm by wrapping in a blanket

Transport your pet to a vet

Choking or airway obstruction

This is an EMERGENCY. Transport your pet to a vet immediately. On the way check that the tongue is not causing the obstruction and if you can see an object which is causing the obstruction, try and remove it gently if possible. You can also attempt the Heimlich manoeuvre but follow these instructions with great caution and care.

Heimlich Manoeuvre – used for when your pet is choking

Raise your pet onto their hind legs; the hind feet can rest on the floor or you can lift the pet off the ground depending on their body weight

Place your pet's backline against your front (for larger dogs you may have to lower your body position); your pet’s spine should be supported against your front at all times

Place your arms around your pet just under the ribs, where the ribs finish and the abdomen starts

Squeeze your pet firmly up and forward

Repeat 4 times

OR

Hold your pet upside down by their back legs, suspend in the air

Firmly deliver a blow using your hand to the abdomen of the pet, in the area of where the ribs finish and the abdomen starts

Repeat 4 times

Convulsions (also known as seizures or fitting)

First aid for convulsions

Clear any danger away from your pet, make the room quiet and dark, wait until the convulsion has stopped before touching or moving your pet

If unconscious, check your pet is breathing and there is no airway obstruction

Do not place your fingers into your pet’s mouth or try to restrain your pet while convulsing

Do not attempt to give food or water while your pet is convulsing

Reassure your pet when he/she comes out of the convulsion

After the convulsion has stopped, see a vet promptly

Eye injury or problem?

Eye injuries or problems should be considered emergencies. They can be extremely painful and if they are left untreated can quickly result in blindness. The most common causes of eye problems are trauma, corneal ulceration, eye prolapse and foreign bodies (such as grass seeds).

Any redness, swelling, increased tear production, squinting, closing of the eye/s, cloudiness or blueness of the eye ball, discharge, change in the size of the eye ball, uneven pupil size, a membrane (third eye lid) has come across the eye, pawing or rubbing the eye are all signs of an eye problem.

Eye injuries or problems should be seen by a vet immediately at the time they are noticed. Changes to the eye and its associated structures can occur quickly after an accident, even over a few hours.

DO NOT put any medications in your pet's eye unless advised by your vet.

Penetrating objects

First aid care for penetrating objects

Do not attempt to remove the item

If possible and without causing any damage to your pet, reduce the size of the protruding part of the foreign body to 3-4 centimeters above the skin level

If it is a penetrating wound to the chest, do not attempt to move the object, restrict your pet’s movement and if at all possible wrap the chest, covering the wound with a plastic wrap such as glad wrap, without putting any pressure on the impaled object.

Control bleeding, but without applying pressure to the penetrating object

Keep your pet warm

See a vet immediately

Puncture & fight wounds

First aid for puncture or fight wounds if you know your pet has been in a fight

See a vet promptly, a course of antibiotics will stop a deep infection from developing, but this must be done within 6-12 hours from when the fight happened

Resuscitation

If your pet does not have a heart beat you should undertake cardiac massage.

If your pet is not breathing but has a heart beat then perform artificial respiration.

CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) is required if the animal is not breathing and does not have a heart beat. This involves a combination of massaging the heart and breathing for the animal (artificial respiration).

Artificial Respiration

If a pet stops breathing for 3-5 minutes there is a very poor chance of survival as brain damage is likely to have occurred.

Lay your pet on their right hand side

Check firstly for any obstructions in the mouth or throat

Gently pull the tongue out of the mouth as far as it will comfortably go

Gently hold the pet’s mouth closed without hurting the tongue

Cup your hands around the nose

For small pets, cover the pet's mouth and nose with your mouth and gently blow into the nostrils and mouth until the chest rises

For larger pets, cover the pet's nose with your mouth while holding their mouth closed to reduce air escaping and gently blow into the nostrils until the chest rises

Adjust the strength and volume of your blowing for the size of the pet - enough to see the chest rise

Blow every 3-5 seconds for the first minute, check the pet after a minute to see if breathing has restarted and if there is a heart beat

Continue a breath every 6 seconds, regularly check the pet for breathing and a heart beat

Transport to a vet immediately, if you have a driver continue artificial respiration while in transit

Cooling your pet

Soak a towel in cool water, drizzle the water over your pet, concentrating on the head, stomach, under the neck, inner thighs and the pads of the feet

Wrap your pet in a cool, wet towel

For larger pets, gentle hosing or bathing with cool water is recommended followed by damp towels applied to the head and stomach

Cool your pet slowly

DO NOT apply ice packs to the pet

Once your pet’s temperature comes down to 39 degrees celsius, stop cooling the pet and wrap in a dry towel or blanket

Wounds and grazes

Any break in the skin, such as an abrasion, cut, puncture or penetrating wound is susceptible to bacteria which can cause an infection. Damage to muscles, tendons and other vital structures of the body can also occur with deep wounds.

Most wounds require a thorough flushing using sterile saline, removal of contaminating matter and devitalized (dead) tissue, surgical repair of the wound, specialised wound dressings depending on the type of wound and medication. This must be performed by a veterinarian.

Graze type wound

A graze affects the surface layer of the skin and doesn’t usually go through the full thickness of the skin. Depending on the cause it can be a large or small wound, it can be either fairly clean or contaminated with road gravel, dirt, fur and grass.